HVAC system having window setting adjustment

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a thermal management system configured to control a temperature of a building and having a controller configured to determine an adjustment to a window setting of the building based on current weather data, forecasted weather data, or both. The thermal management system also includes a display configured to display instructions related to the adjustment.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/979,136, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR WINDOW SETTINGADJUSTMENT,” filed May 14, 2018, which claims priority from and thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/668,082, entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR WINDOW SETTING ADJUSTMENT,” filed May 7, 2018,each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety forall purposes.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to heating, ventilation, andair conditioning systems. A wide range of applications exist forheating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. For example,residential, light commercial, commercial, and industrial systems areused to control temperatures and air quality in residences andbuildings. Such systems often are dedicated to either heating orcooling, although systems are common that perform both of thesefunctions. Very generally, these systems operate by implementing athermal cycle in which fluids are heated and cooled to provide thedesired temperature in a controlled space, typically the inside of aresidence or building. Similar systems are used for vehicle heating andcooling, and as well as for general refrigeration. In many HVAC systems,sunlight and external weather may affect internal conditions of abuilding.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to a thermal management system configuredto control a temperature of a building and having a controllerconfigured to determine an adjustment to a window setting of thebuilding based on current weather data, forecasted weather data, orboth. The thermal management system also includes a display configuredto display instructions related to the adjustment.

The present disclosure also relates a non-transitory, computer readablemedium including instructions, wherein the instructions are configuredto be executed by a processor to perform operations including: receivinga set of data indicative of a weather condition of an externalenvironment of a building; determining a window setting adjustment ofthe building based on the set of data; and displaying, via a displaydevice, instructions to perform the window setting adjustment.

The present disclosure further relates to a heating and cooling systemincluding a thermal management system configured to set a set-pointtemperature of a building, a first sensor configured to detect a weathercondition of an external environment of the building, and a secondsensor configured to detect an actual temperature of the building. Thethermal management system is configured to determine instructions for awindow setting adjustment of the building based on the set-pointtemperature, the weather condition, and the actual temperature

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a heating, ventilation,and air conditioning (HVAC) system for building environmental managementthat may employ one or more HVAC units, in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an HVAC unit of theHVAC system of FIG. 1 , in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a residential splitheating and cooling system, in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a vapor compressionsystem that may be used in an HVAC system, in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a floor plan that mayutilize a thermal management system to provide instructions to adjustwindow settings, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the thermal managementsystem of FIG. 5 , in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the thermal managementsystem of FIG. 5 , in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to heating, ventilation, and airconditioning (HVAC) system that may include a thermal management system,such as a thermostat, configured to direct users to adjust a windowsetting, such as by adjusting window coverings and/or opening or closinga window. For example, in some instances, building occupants may havewindow coverings set to allow external weather conditions, such assunlight, to heat up portions of the building above a set-pointtemperature, which may decrease an efficiency of the HVAC system.Accordingly, the disclosed embodiments include a thermostat configuredto aggregate weather data and notify a building occupant, or user, toadjust a window setting based on the weather data. Particularly, thethermostat may display instructions via a display device to guide usersto adjust window settings. In this manner, if weather conditions of anexternal environment are favorable, the thermostat may guide users, viainstructions or suggested actions, to adjust window settings to permitthe weather of the external environment to affect internal conditions ofthe building in a beneficial manner. Similarly, if weather conditions ofthe external environment are adverse, the thermostat may guide users toadjust window settings to block or restrict the weather of the externalenvironment from affecting internal conditions of the building in anundesirable manner. Thus, the weather conditions may be utilized to helpcondition the building such as by permitting sunlight to enter and heatthe building, such as when heating is desired, and/or by permittingexternal air to enter and condition the building, such as when coolingis desired, thereby increasing an efficiency of the HVAC system.

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a heating, ventilation,and air conditioning (HVAC) system for building environmental managementthat may employ one or more HVAC units. In the illustrated embodiment, abuilding 10 is air conditioned by a system that includes an HVAC unit12. The building 10 may be a commercial structure or a residentialstructure. As shown, the HVAC unit 12 is disposed on the roof of thebuilding 10; however, the HVAC unit 12 may be located in other equipmentrooms or areas adjacent the building 10. The HVAC unit 12 may be asingle package unit containing other equipment, such as a blower,integrated air handler, and/or auxiliary heating unit. In otherembodiments, the HVAC unit 12 may be part of a split HVAC system, suchas the system shown in FIG. 3 , which includes an outdoor HVAC unit 58and an indoor HVAC unit 56.

The HVAC unit 12 is an air cooled device that implements a refrigerationcycle to provide conditioned air to the building 10. Specifically, theHVAC unit 12 may include one or more heat exchangers across which an airflow is passed to condition the air flow before the air flow is suppliedto the building. In the illustrated embodiment, the HVAC unit 12 is arooftop unit (RTU) that conditions a supply air stream, such asenvironmental air and/or a return air flow from the building 10. Afterthe HVAC unit 12 conditions the air, the air is supplied to the building10 via ductwork 14 extending throughout the building 10 from the HVACunit 12. For example, the ductwork 14 may extend to various individualfloors or other sections of the building 10. In certain embodiments, theHVAC unit 12 may be a heat pump that provides both heating and coolingto the building with one refrigeration circuit configured to operate indifferent modes. In other embodiments, the HVAC unit 12 may include oneor more refrigeration circuits for cooling an air stream and a furnacefor heating the air stream.

A control device 16, one type of which may be a thermostat, may be usedto designate the temperature of the conditioned air. The control device16 also may be used to control the flow of air through the ductwork 14.For example, the control device 16 may be used to regulate operation ofone or more components of the HVAC unit 12 or other components, such asdampers and fans, within the building 10 that may control flow of airthrough and/or from the ductwork 14. In some embodiments, other devicesmay be included in the system, such as pressure and/or temperaturetransducers or switches that sense the temperatures and pressures of thesupply air, return air, and so forth. Moreover, the control device 16may include computer systems that are integrated with or separate fromother building control or monitoring systems, and even systems that areremote from the building 10.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the HVAC unit 12. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the HVAC unit 12 is a single package unitthat may include one or more independent refrigeration circuits andcomponents that are tested, charged, wired, piped, and ready forinstallation. The HVAC unit 12 may provide a variety of heating and/orcooling functions, such as cooling only, heating only, cooling withelectric heat, cooling with dehumidification, cooling with gas heat, orcooling with a heat pump. As described above, the HVAC unit 12 maydirectly cool and/or heat an air stream provided to the building 10 tocondition a space in the building 10.

As shown in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 2 , a cabinet 24 enclosesthe HVAC unit 12 and provides structural support and protection to theinternal components from environmental and other contaminants. In someembodiments, the cabinet 24 may be constructed of galvanized steel andinsulated with aluminum foil faced insulation. Rails 26 may be joined tothe bottom perimeter of the cabinet 24 and provide a foundation for theHVAC unit 12. In certain embodiments, the rails 26 may provide accessfor a forklift and/or overhead rigging to facilitate installation and/orremoval of the HVAC unit 12. In some embodiments, the rails 26 may fitinto “curbs” on the roof to enable the HVAC unit 12 to provide air tothe ductwork 14 from the bottom of the HVAC unit 12 while blockingelements such as rain from leaking into the building 10.

The HVAC unit 12 includes heat exchangers 28 and 30 in fluidcommunication with one or more refrigeration circuits. Tubes within theheat exchangers 28 and 30 may circulate refrigerant, such as R-410A,through the heat exchangers 28 and 30. The tubes may be of varioustypes, such as multichannel tubes, conventional copper or aluminumtubing, and so forth. Together, the heat exchangers 28 and 30 mayimplement a thermal cycle in which the refrigerant undergoes phasechanges and/or temperature changes as it flows through the heatexchangers 28 and 30 to produce heated and/or cooled air. For example,the heat exchanger 28 may function as a condenser where heat is releasedfrom the refrigerant to ambient air, and the heat exchanger 30 mayfunction as an evaporator where the refrigerant absorbs heat to cool anair stream. In other embodiments, the HVAC unit 12 may operate in a heatpump mode where the roles of the heat exchangers 28 and 30 may bereversed. That is, the heat exchanger 28 may function as an evaporatorand the heat exchanger 30 may function as a condenser. In furtherembodiments, the HVAC unit 12 may include a furnace for heating the airstream that is supplied to the building 10. While the illustratedembodiment of FIG. 2 shows the HVAC unit 12 having two of the heatexchangers 28 and 30, in other embodiments, the HVAC unit 12 may includeone heat exchanger or more than two heat exchangers.

The heat exchanger 30 is located within a compartment 31 that separatesthe heat exchanger 30 from the heat exchanger 28. Fans 32 draw air fromthe environment through the heat exchanger 28. Air may be heated and/orcooled as the air flows through the heat exchanger 28 before beingreleased back to the environment surrounding the rooftop unit 12. Ablower assembly 34, powered by a motor 36, draws air through the heatexchanger 30 to heat or cool the air. The heated or cooled air may bedirected to the building 10 by the ductwork 14, which may be connectedto the HVAC unit 12. Before flowing through the heat exchanger 30, theconditioned air flows through one or more filters 38 that may removeparticulates and contaminants from the air. In certain embodiments, thefilters 38 may be disposed on the air intake side of the heat exchanger30 to prevent contaminants from contacting the heat exchanger 30.

The HVAC unit 12 also may include other equipment for implementing thethermal cycle. Compressors 42 increase the pressure and temperature ofthe refrigerant before the refrigerant enters the heat exchanger 28. Thecompressors 42 may be any suitable type of compressors, such as scrollcompressors, rotary compressors, screw compressors, or reciprocatingcompressors. In some embodiments, the compressors 42 may include a pairof hermetic direct drive compressors arranged in a dual stageconfiguration 44. However, in other embodiments, any number of thecompressors 42 may be provided to achieve various stages of heatingand/or cooling. As may be appreciated, additional equipment and devicesmay be included in the HVAC unit 12, such as a solid-core filter drier,a drain pan, a disconnect switch, an economizer, pressure switches,phase monitors, and humidity sensors, among other things.

The HVAC unit 12 may receive power through a terminal block 46. Forexample, a high voltage power source may be connected to the terminalblock 46 to power the equipment. The operation of the HVAC unit 12 maybe governed or regulated by a control board 48. The control board 48 mayinclude control circuitry connected to a thermostat, sensors, andalarms. One or more of these components may be referred to hereinseparately or collectively as the control device 16. The controlcircuitry may be configured to control operation of the equipment,provide alarms, and monitor safety switches. Wiring 49 may connect thecontrol board 48 and the terminal block 46 to the equipment of the HVACunit 12.

FIG. 3 illustrates a residential heating and cooling system 50, also inaccordance with present techniques. The residential heating and coolingsystem 50 may provide heated and cooled air to a residential structure,as well as provide outside air for ventilation and provide improvedindoor air quality (IAQ) through devices such as ultraviolet lights andair filters. In the illustrated embodiment, the residential heating andcooling system 50 is a split HVAC system. In general, a residence 52conditioned by a split HVAC system may include refrigerant conduits 54that operatively couple the indoor unit 56 to the outdoor unit 58. Theindoor unit 56 may be positioned in a utility room, an attic, abasement, and so forth. The outdoor unit 58 is typically situatedadjacent to a side of residence 52 and is covered by a shroud to protectthe system components and to prevent leaves and other debris orcontaminants from entering the unit. The refrigerant conduits 54transfer refrigerant between the indoor unit 56 and the outdoor unit 58,typically transferring primarily liquid refrigerant in one direction andprimarily vaporized refrigerant in an opposite direction.

When the system shown in FIG. 3 is operating as an air conditioner, aheat exchanger 60 in the outdoor unit 58 serves as a condenser forre-condensing vaporized refrigerant flowing from the indoor unit 56 tothe outdoor unit 58 via one of the refrigerant conduits 54. In theseapplications, a heat exchanger 62 of the indoor unit functions as anevaporator. Specifically, the heat exchanger 62 receives liquidrefrigerant, which may be expanded by an expansion device, andevaporates the refrigerant before returning it to the outdoor unit 58.

The outdoor unit 58 draws environmental air through the heat exchanger60 using a fan 64 and expels the air above the outdoor unit 58. Whenoperating as an air conditioner, the air is heated by the heat exchanger60 within the outdoor unit 58 and exits the unit at a temperature higherthan it entered. The indoor unit 56 includes a blower or fan 66 thatdirects air through or across the indoor heat exchanger 62, where theair is cooled when the system is operating in air conditioning mode.Thereafter, the air is passed through ductwork 68 that directs the airto the residence 52. The overall system operates to maintain a desiredtemperature as set by a system controller. When the temperature sensedinside the residence 52 is higher than the set point on the thermostat,or the set point plus a small amount, the residential heating andcooling system 50 may become operative to refrigerate additional air forcirculation through the residence 52. When the temperature reaches theset point, or the set point minus a small amount, the residentialheating and cooling system 50 may stop the refrigeration cycletemporarily.

The residential heating and cooling system 50 may also operate as a heatpump. When operating as a heat pump, the roles of heat exchangers 60 and62 are reversed. That is, the heat exchanger 60 of the outdoor unit 58will serve as an evaporator to evaporate refrigerant and thereby coolair entering the outdoor unit 58 as the air passes over outdoor the heatexchanger 60. The indoor heat exchanger 62 will receive a stream of airblown over it and will heat the air by condensing the refrigerant.

In some embodiments, the indoor unit 56 may include a furnace system 70.For example, the indoor unit 56 may include the furnace system 70 whenthe residential heating and cooling system 50 is not configured tooperate as a heat pump. The furnace system 70 may include a burnerassembly and heat exchanger, among other components, inside the indoorunit 56. Fuel is provided to the burner assembly of the furnace 70 whereit is mixed with air and combusted to form combustion products. Thecombustion products may pass through tubes or piping in a heatexchanger, separate from heat exchanger 62, such that air directed bythe blower 66 passes over the tubes or pipes and extracts heat from thecombustion products. The heated air may then be routed from the furnacesystem 70 to the ductwork 68 for heating the residence 52.

FIG. 4 is an embodiment of a vapor compression system 72 that can beused in any of the systems described above. The vapor compression system72 may circulate a refrigerant through a circuit starting with acompressor 74. The circuit may also include a condenser 76, an expansionvalve(s) or device(s) 78, and an evaporator 80. The vapor compressionsystem 72 may further include a control panel 82 that has an analog todigital (A/D) converter 84, a microprocessor 86, a non-volatile memory88, and/or an interface board 90. The control panel 82 and itscomponents may function to regulate operation of the vapor compressionsystem 72 based on feedback from an operator, from sensors of the vaporcompression system 72 that detect operating conditions, and so forth.

In some embodiments, the vapor compression system 72 may use one or moreof a variable speed drive (VSDs) 92, a motor 94, the compressor 74, thecondenser 76, the expansion valve or device 78, and/or the evaporator80. The motor 94 may drive the compressor 74 and may be powered by thevariable speed drive (VSD) 92. The VSD 92 receives alternating current(AC) power having a particular fixed line voltage and fixed linefrequency from an AC power source, and provides power having a variablevoltage and frequency to the motor 94. In other embodiments, the motor94 may be powered directly from an AC or direct current (DC) powersource. The motor 94 may include any type of electric motor that can bepowered by a VSD or directly from an AC or DC power source, such as aswitched reluctance motor, an induction motor, an electronicallycommutated permanent magnet motor, or another suitable motor.

The compressor 74 compresses a refrigerant vapor and delivers the vaporto the condenser 76 through a discharge passage. In some embodiments,the compressor 74 may be a centrifugal compressor. The refrigerant vapordelivered by the compressor 74 to the condenser 76 may transfer heat toa fluid passing across the condenser 76, such as ambient orenvironmental air 96. The refrigerant vapor may condense to arefrigerant liquid in the condenser 76 as a result of thermal heattransfer with the environmental air 96. The liquid refrigerant from thecondenser 76 may flow through the expansion device 78 to the evaporator80.

The liquid refrigerant delivered to the evaporator 80 may absorb heatfrom another air stream, such as a supply air stream 98 provided to thebuilding 10 or the residence 52. For example, the supply air stream 98may include ambient or environmental air, return air from a building, ora combination of the two. The liquid refrigerant in the evaporator 80may undergo a phase change from the liquid refrigerant to a refrigerantvapor. In this manner, the evaporator 38 may reduce the temperature ofthe supply air stream 98 via thermal heat transfer with the refrigerant.Thereafter, the vapor refrigerant exits the evaporator 80 and returns tothe compressor 74 by a suction line to complete the cycle.

In some embodiments, the vapor compression system 72 may further includea reheat coil in addition to the evaporator 80. For example, the reheatcoil may be positioned downstream of the evaporator relative to thesupply air stream 98 and may reheat the supply air stream 98 when thesupply air stream 98 is overcooled to remove humidity from the supplyair stream 98 before the supply air stream 98 is directed to thebuilding 10 or the residence 52.

It should be appreciated that any of the features described herein maybe incorporated with the HVAC unit 12, the residential heating andcooling system 50, or other HVAC systems. Additionally, while thefeatures disclosed herein are described in the context of embodimentsthat directly heat and cool a supply air stream provided to a buildingor other load, embodiments of the present disclosure may be applicableto other HVAC systems as well. For example, the features describedherein may be applied to mechanical cooling systems, free coolingsystems, chiller systems, or other heat pump or refrigerationapplications.

As discussed below, an HVAC system, such as the HVAC unit 12, theresidential heating and cooling system 50, and/or the vapor compressionsystem 72, may utilize a thermostat, such as the control device 16, toguide users to adjust window settings of a building to increase anefficiency of the HVAC system in conditioning a space within thebuilding, such as by providing instructions or suggestion actions toadjust window settings.

To illustrate, FIG. 5 is a plan view of a building 100 that may utilizethermal management system, such as a thermostat 102, to guide users, viaa display 103, to adjust window settings, such as by providinginstructions or suggestion actions to open/close windows 104 and/or toadjust window coverings 106 of the windows 104. In this manner, externalweather conditions may be utilized to increase an energy efficiency ofan HVAC system conditioning a space of the building 100.

As used herein, windows 104 may refer to a portion of an outer wall ofthe building 100 that may connect an external environment 107 of thebuilding 100 to an interior of the building 100. For example, windows104 may refer to paned windows, doors, door windows, skylights, and soforth. Further, window coverings 106 may refer to any suitable windowcovering that is configured to control an amount of light that maytravel through the windows 104 of the building 100, such as curtains,drapes, blinds, shutters, shades, screens, boarding, any other suitableand/or adjustable window covering, or any combination thereof. Stillfurther, weather of the external environment 107 of the building 100 mayrefer to temperature, precipitation, sunlight, cloud cover, humiditylevel, wind speed/direction, and so forth, of the external environment107.

The building 100 may utilize a heating and cooling system 108, such as aheating ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, to heat, cool,dehumidify, and generally condition the building 100 according to aset-point temperature and/or humidity level. As discussed herein,external weather conditions may be utilized via the windows 104 andwindow coverings 106 to help the heating and cooling system 108 tocondition the building 100 in a desired manner. For example, when theheating and cooling system 108 is in a heating mode and it is a sunnyday, the thermostat 102 may suggest and/or guide users to open one ormore of the window coverings 106 to allow sunlight to heat the interiorbuilding 100 via solar radiation. Correspondingly, when the heating andcooling system 108 is in a cooling mode and it is a sunny day, thethermostat 102 may suggest and/or guide users to close one or more ofthe window coverings 106 to block the sunlight from heating the interiorof the building 100 via solar radiation. Further, in certainembodiments, a temperature and/or humidity level of the externalenvironment 107 may be conducive to helping the heating and coolingsystem 108 condition interior spaces of the building. In suchembodiments, the thermostat 102 may similarly suggest and/or guide theusers to open the windows 104 to allow external air to enter thebuilding 100.

In some embodiments, the thermostat 102 may guide users to adjust thewindow coverings 106 of windows 104 depending on respective positionsand orientations of the windows 104 relative to the position of the Sun109. For example, as the Sun 109 may generally rise in the East and setin the West, window coverings 106 of windows 104 that are generallyexposed and oriented towards the East may be adjusted to block and/orallow sunlight in the morning. Correspondingly, window coverings 106 ofwindows 104 that are generally exposed and oriented towards the West maybe adjusted to block and/or allow sunlight in the afternoon. Forexample, as illustrated in the current embodiment, a first window 104 aand a second window 104 b may be positioned to receive some amount ofsunlight as indicated by arrows 111. Accordingly, the thermostat 102 mayguide users via the display 103 to adjust the respective windowcoverings 106 of the first window 104 a and the second window 104 bdepending on whether the heating effect of the Sun 109 is desired tocondition the interior of the building 100. Indeed, as discussed below,in certain embodiments, the thermostat 102 may include storedinformation regarding the position and orientation of the windows 106relative to a position of the Sun 109 throughout the day to determinewhen to guide users to adjust the window coverings 106 of particularwindows 104.

In certain embodiments, the heating and cooling system 108 may includemultiple sensors 120, which may be used to detect, sense, and/or measurea humidity level, a temperature, and/or a light intensity of thebuilding 100 and/or of the external environment 107. Indeed, the sensors120 may include humidity sensors, temperature sensors, and/or lightsensors. Particularly, in some embodiments, an outdoor unit 122, such asa condensing unit, an outdoor heat exchanger, and/or a heat pump, of theheating and cooling system 108 may include sensors 120 configured tomeasure temperature and humidity of the external environment 107.Utilizing the sensors 120 of the outdoor unit 122, the thermostat 102may determine a temperature and/or humidity level of the externalenvironment 107. If the temperature and/or humidity level of theexternal environment 107 is conducive to conditioning the interior ofthe building 100, as discussed below, the thermostat 102 may guide usersto open the windows 104 to allow air from the external environment 107to enter the building 100. Correspondingly, if the temperature and/orhumidity level of the external environment 107 is not conducive toconditioning the interior of the building 100, as discussed below, thethermostat 102 may guide users to close the windows 104 to block airfrom the external environment 107 from entering the building 100.

In some embodiments, the heating and cooling system 108 may beconfigured to provide individualized conditioned air to certain areas123, rooms, or zones, of the building 100. To this end, the building 100may include a multiple air diffusers 124 disposed in the certain areasof the building 100. In some embodiments, the air diffusers 124 may beassociated with a zoning system, a variable air volume (VAV) system,and/or a constant air volume (CAV) system. Indeed, each area 123 of thebuilding 100 may include one or more air diffusers 124 configured toprovide individualized conditioned air based on a temperature and/orhumidity of the area 123. Further, as used herein, it should beunderstood that the term, “based on,” may be defined as “based at leastin part on,” in some embodiments. Moreover, in certain embodiments, eachair diffuser 124 may be associated with one or more sensors 120configured to measure a temperature and/or humidity of the area 123, asillustrated. For example, the air diffusers 124 may provide cool air ifthe sensors 120 detect an actual temperature of a particular area 123 tobe higher than a set-point temperature. Correspondingly, the airdiffusers 124 may provide warm air if the sensors 120 detect an actualtemperature of a particular area 123 to be lower than the set-pointtemperature. Further, in certain embodiments, the sensors 120 mayinclude light sensors configured to detect an intensity of sunlight,such as ultra violet light, passing into the area 123 to determinewhether the window coverings 106 are positioned to allow sunlight topass into the area 123. Keeping this in mind, when the thermostat 102guides or suggests to a user to adjust, open, or close a window covering106, the thermostat 102 may determine whether the window covering 106has actually been adjusted, opened, or closed by determining the amountof light in the area 123 via the sensors 120. In this manner, thethermostat 102 may remind the user to adjust, open, or close the windowcovering 106 if the user did not notice the suggested instructions orchose not to follow the suggested instructions. Additionally oralternatively, the thermostat 102 may provide conditioned air via theair diffuser 124 if the sensors 120 detects that the user did not noticethe suggested instructions or chose not to follow the suggestedinstructions.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a portion of the heating and cooling system108 that may be utilized to guide users to adjust the window settings,such as by providing instructions or suggested actions. Generally, thethermostat 102 may receive data 158, such as weather data 160 indicativeif a weather condition of the external environment 107, forecast data162 indicative of forecasted weather of the external environment 107,and/or building data 164 indicative of a temperature/humidity and otherinformation associated the building 100, as discussed below. Based onthe received data, the thermostat 102 may output instructions 166.

To this end, the thermostat 102 may include a controller 170, such as acomputer-based controller, which may have a processor 172, such as amicro-processor, a memory 174, and executable code stored thereon. Theprocessor 172 may be any general purpose or application-specificprocessor. The memory 174 may include one or more tangible,non-transitory, machine-readable media. By way of example, suchmachine-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, orother optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or storedesired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions ordata structures and which can be accessed by a processor, such as theprocessor 172, or by any general purpose or special purpose computer orother machine with a processor, such as the processor 172.

As mentioned above, the thermostat 102 may receive the weather data 160indicative of a weather status the external environment 107. In someembodiments, the weather data 160 may originate from the sensor 120included in the outdoor unit 122. Additionally, or in the alternative,the weather data 160 may originate from one or more sensors 120 locatedin a similar geographic location as the building 100. Particularly, theweather data 160 may include data indicative of temperature, humidity,precipitation, cloud cover, wind direction/speed, and so forth of theexternal environment 107.

Further, as also mentioned above, the thermostat 102 may receive theforecast data 162 indicative of forecasted weather of the externalenvironment 107. For example, the forecast data 162 may includepredicted weather conditions, such as cloud cover, UV radiation,temperature, humidity, precipitation, and so forth. In certainembodiments, the weather data 160 and/or the forecast data 162 mayinclude a position of the Sun 109 relative to the building 100. Incertain embodiments, the thermostat 102 may receive the forecast data162 from an online source, such as from a weather reporting and/orforecasting website or service. Indeed, the thermostat 102 becommunicatively coupled to the internet via a communication system 171.The communication system 171 may communicate through a wireless network,such as wireless local area networks [WLAN], wireless wide area networks[WWAN], near field communication [NFC], Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth. In someembodiments, the communication system 171 may communicate through awired network, such as local area networks [LAN] or wide area networks[WAN]. In certain embodiments, the thermostat 102 may be communicativelycoupled to the sensors 120 via the communication system 171.

Additionally, the thermostat 102 may receive the building data 164,which may be indicative of temperature and humidity the building 100,and other information regarding the building 100. For example, thethermostat 102 may receive the building data 164 from the one or moresensors 120 indicative of an indoor temperature of the building 100and/or an indoor humidity level of the building 100. In someembodiments, the building data 100 may include data indicative of theset-point temperature of the building 100, which may be manually inputinto the thermostat 102, such as via the display 103 or other inputdevices. Further, the building data 164 may include data indicative of ageographic location of the building 100 and respective positions andorientations of the windows 104. In certain embodiments, depending atleast in part on the geographic location of the building 100, thethermostat 102 may determine a location of the Sun 109 relative to thebuilding 100, and more specifically, relative to the windows 104 of thebuilding 100 during certain times of the year/day. Indeed, certainwindows 104 may be oriented to receive sunlight during certain timeperiods of the day and year depending at least in part on the locationand orientation of the windows 104. Particularly, as used herein, theorientation of the windows 104 may refer to a cardinal directionorientation, such as North, East, South, and West, and/or an angle ofelevation/depression of the windows 104. Moreover, as used herein, thedirection in which the windows 104 are facing may refer to the directionof the normal vector of the exterior side of the windows 104. In certainembodiments, the building data 164 indicative of a location andorientation of the windows 104 may be manually input to the thermostat102 during installation of the thermostat 102. Similarly, in certainembodiments, the geographic location of the building 100 may be manuallyinput to the thermostat 102 during installation of the thermostat 102.In certain embodiments, the geographic location of the building 100 maybe detected automatically, such as by utilizing a global positioningsystem (GPS), Wi-Fi, service set identifiers (SSID), wireless accesspoints, and so forth. Indeed, the building data 164 may be received froma variety of sources, as described above.

The thermostat 102 may aggregate the data 158 and analyze the data 158to determine the instructions 166 to adjust window settings, such as toadjust certain window coverings 106 or to open/close windows 104.Generally, the instructions 166 to adjust the window settings may bebased on a comparison of the actual temperature of the building 100 andthe set-point temperature, and whether the weather of the exteriorenvironment 107 is conducive to conditioning the building 100. That is,the thermostat 102 may utilize the data 158 to determine whether theactual temperature of the building 100, or areas 123 of the building100, is above, below, or substantially even with the set-pointtemperature, and may output the instructions 166 accordingly.

As an example, if the actual temperature is below the set-pointtemperature and the weather of the external environment 107 is conduciveto raising the actual temperature of the building 100, the instructions166 may include instructions to utilize the weather of the externalenvironment 107 to help raise the actual temperature, such as by openingwindows 104 and/or window coverings 106. Correspondingly, if the actualtemperature is below the set-point temperature and the weather of theexternal environment 107 is not conducive to raising actual temperatureof the building 100, the instructions 166 may include instructions tonot utilize the climate of the external environment 107, such as byclosing the windows 104 and/or window coverings 106.

As a further example, if the actual temperature is above the set-pointtemperature and the weather of the external environment 107 is conduciveto lowering the actual temperature of the building 100, the instructions166 may include instructions to utilize the weather of the externalenvironment 107 to help lower the actual temperature, such as by openingwindows 104 and/or window coverings 106. Correspondingly, if the actualtemperature is above the set-point temperature and the weather of theexternal environment 107 is not conducive to lowering the actualtemperature of the building 100, the instructions 166 may includeinstructions to not utilize the climate of the external environment 107,such as by closing the windows 104 and/or window coverings 106.

In certain embodiments, the thermostat 102 may utilize the weather data160 and the forecast data 162 to determine whether and which windows 104should be opened or closed. For example, as discussed above, the weatherdata 160 and/or the forecast data 162 may be indicative of cloud cover,UV radiation, temperature, humidity, precipitation, and so forth, of theexternal environment 107. In certain embodiments, if the weather data160 and/or the forecast data 162 indicates that external weathercondition is adverse, such as adverse precipitation, temperatures, orhumidity levels, the instructions 166 may indicate that the windows 104should be closed. For example, adverse precipitation may include rain,snow, hail, storms, and the like, adverse temperatures may includetemperatures that may affect the actual temperature to move away fromthe set-point temperature, and adverse humidity levels may include highhumidity levels and/or low humidity levels, which may be set accordingto user preference. Similarly, if the weather data 162 and/or theforecast data 162 indicates that external environment weather conditionsare favorable, such as favorable temperatures and humidity levels, theinstructions 166 may indicate that the windows 104 should be opened. Forexample, favorable weather conditions may include dry weather, or noprecipitation, favorable temperatures may include temperatures that maycause the actual temperature within the building 100 to move towards theset-point temperature, and favorable humidity levels may be setaccording to user preference.

In certain embodiments, the weather data 160 and the forecast data 162may be disparate, which may be due in part at least to the differentsources from which they are obtained. For example, the forecast data 162may indicate that the external environment weather conditions arefavorable while the weather data 160 may indicate that the externalenvironment weather conditions are adverse, or vice versa. Indeed, asdiscussed above, the weather data 160 may be gathered from the sensors120, while the forecast data 162 may be gathered from an online source.In such embodiments, the thermostat 102 may prioritize the weather data160 over the forecast data 162. In other words, if the weather data 160and the forecast data 162 are disparate, as described above, thethermostat 102 may base the instructions 166 on the weather data 160 asoppose to the forecast data 162.

Further, as discussed above in certain embodiments, the forecast data162 may include a predicted, or future, weather of the externalenvironment. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the instructions 166may indicate to open or close the windows to prepare for certain futureweather conditions, such as by opening or closing the window 104.

In certain embodiments, the thermostat 102 may utilize the building data164 to determine whether and which window coverings 106 should be openedor closed, such as to block or allow sunlight through windows 104. Forexample, as discussed above, the building data 164 may be indicative ofthe location of the building 100, the movement of the Sun 109 relativeto the building 100, and movement of the Sun 109 relative to respectivepositions and orientations of the windows 104. To illustrate, based onthe position of the Sun 109 during certain points of the day and yearrelative to the geographic location of the building 100 and the windows104 of the building 100, the instructions 166 may include instructionsto open window covering 106 of a certain window 104 during a certaintime period to either block sunlight from entering the building 100through the window 104 and/or to allow sunlight to enter the building100 through the window 104. For example, in certain embodiments, the Sun109 may be positioned to direct UV radiation at a first window 104, orset of windows 104, in the morning, and may be position to direct UVradiation at a second window 104, or set of windows 104, in theafternoon. In such embodiments, if the heating and cooling system 108 isin a heating mode, such as during winter, the instructions 166 mayinclude instructions to open a window covering 106 of first window 104in the morning and to open a window covering 106 of the second window104 in the afternoon. That is, in certain embodiments, the thermostat102 may communicate a schedule for a certain time period, such as a day,a week, a month, describing window setting adjustments for respectivewindows 104. Additionally, or in the alternative, the thermostat 102 maycommunicate instructions contemporaneously. For example, the thermostat102 may communicate in the morning to adjust the window coverings 106 ofthe first window 104, and may communicate in the afternoon to adjust thewindow coverings 106 of the second window 104.

Generally, the instructions 166 may include instructions to allowsunlight to enter the building 100 if an actual temperature of thebuilding 100 is below the set-point temperature. Similarly, theinstructions 166 may include instructions to block sunlight fromentering the building 100 if an actual temperature of the building 100is above the set-point temperature. In certain embodiments, the windowcoverings 106 may be configured to be adjusted to a position between afully open position and a fully closed position. For example, if thewindow coverings 106 are blinds, shutters, or other window coveringsconfigured to be positioned at various angles between fully open andfully closed, the building data 164 may be indicative of the same. Insuch embodiments, the instructions 166 may include instructions toposition the window coverings 106 at a certain position between an openposition and a closed position. In some embodiments, the certainposition between the open position and the closed position may be basedat least in part on a position of the Sun 109 relative to the window104. For example, if 0° is a closed position and 180° is an openposition, the thermostat 102 may determine that one of 45°, 90°, or 135°will provide the most ideal sun exposure.

As discussed in detail above, the thermostat 102 may aggregate the data158 and determine instructions 166 indicative of an adjustment of awindow setting, such as the window 104 and/or the window coverings 106.Particularly, in certain embodiments, the instructions 166 may includesuggested instructions 180 and automated instructions 182. The suggestedinstructions 180 that may be displayed, such as via the display 103 ofthe thermostat 102. Particularly, the suggested instructions 180 may beutilized to communicate the instructions 166 to a user of the thermostat102. That is, the user may observe the suggested instructions 180 andmay proceed to adjust a window setting as directed by the suggestedinstructions 180.

In some embodiments, the thermostat 102 may also receive data indicativeof user preferences. For example, the user preferences may include aschedule, which may implement a first set-point temperature during theday time and a second set-point temperature during the night time.Accordingly, the thermostat 102 may determine the instructions 166 basedon the user preferences, such as to provide instructions according to afirst set-point temperature during a first time period and according toa second set-point temperature during a second time period, as discussedherein.

Further, in certain embodiments, the building 100 may include a buildingautomation system (BAS) 181. The BAS 181 may be a centralized controlsystem of the building 100. Particularly, the BAS 181 may providecontrol to the heating and cooling system 108, a lighting system, asecurity system, and/or other systems of the building 100. In suchembodiments, the automated instructions 182 may be implemented via theBAS 181. That is, the thermostat 102 may send data indicative of theautomated instructions 182 to the BAS 181. Based on the automatedinstructions, the BAS 181 may adjust the window settings via actuators183. For example, in certain embodiments, the BAS 181 may becommunicatively coupled to the actuators 183, which are configured toadjust the window settings of the windows 104 and window coverings 106of the building 100. That is, the actuators 183 may be configured toadjust a position of the window coverings 106 and/or to open and closethe windows 104.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a thermal management system, which mayinclude the thermostat 102 and/or a computing device 190, such as acellular phone, laptop, tablet, desktop, network, and so forth. That is,in certain embodiments, the display 103, which may display theinstructions 166 may be included in any suitable thermal managementsystem, which may be utilized through an application on the computingdevice 190 and/or may be included in the thermostat 102, as describedabove.

As shown, in certain embodiments, the instructions 166 may be in theform of text instructions 200 and/or may be in the form of picture orimage instructions 202. The text instructions 200 may include text tocommunicate the instructions 166 to a user observing the display 103. Byway of example, the text instructions 166 may display text reading,“open the family room window,” “close the first East facing window,”“open the window covering of the second story dining room window,” orany other suitable text instructions that may communicate the windowsetting adjustment. Further, in certain embodiments, the thermostat 102may include an audio system 203, which may be configured to emit verbalinstructions similar to the text instructions 200. Also, by way ofexample, the picture instructions 202 may include a plan view of thebuilding 100, such as shown in FIG. 5 and may graphically indicate whichwindow 104 and/or window covering 106 of the building 100 to adjust. Forexample, in certain embodiments, the picture instructions 202 mayinclude a graphic representation of a particular window 104 and/orwindow covering 106 that is to be adjusted, as well the position towhich it should be adjusted. In certain embodiments, the pictureinstructions 202 may be displayed in conjunction with the textinstructions 200. For example, the picture instructions 202 may displaya plan view of the building 100 and may indicate a particular window 104and/or window covering 106 to adjust, and the text instructions 200 mayindicate how to adjust the a particular window 104 and/or windowcovering 106, such as by opening or closing.

Further, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments may beapplied to any suitable heating and cooling system configured tocondition a space, whether it be residential, commercial, industrial,automotive, and so forth.

Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to providing systems andmethods for a thermal management system configured to provideinstructions to adjust window settings of windows of a building, such asby opening and/or closing windows and/or by adjusting window coveringsof windows. In certain embodiments, the instructions may be communicatedvia a display of the thermal management system. In this manner, aheating and cooling system associated with the thermal management systemmay utilize external weather conditions to help condition the building,thereby increasing an efficiency of the heating and cooling system.

While only certain features and embodiments of the present disclosurehave been illustrated and described, many modifications and changes mayoccur to those skilled in the art, such as variations in sizes,dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements,values of parameters, such as temperatures or pressures, mountingarrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, and so forth,without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages ofthe subject matter recited in the claims. The order or sequence of anyprocess or method steps may be varied or re-sequenced according toalternative embodiments. It is, therefore, to be understood that theappended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changesas fall within the true spirit of the present disclosure. Furthermore,in an effort to provide a concise description of the exemplaryembodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not have beendescribed, such as those unrelated to the presently contemplated bestmode of carrying out the present disclosure, or those unrelated toenabling the claimed embodiments. It should be appreciated that in thedevelopment of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering ordesign project, numerous implementation specific decisions may be made.Such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but wouldnevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, andmanufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of thisdisclosure, without undue experimentation.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A heating, ventilation, and airconditioning (HVAC) system, comprising: a thermal management systemconfigured to establish a set-point for an environmental parameter of aspace within a building; and a controller configured to: receivefeedback indicative of an actual value of the environmental parameterwithin the space; receive weather data indicative of current weatherdata external to the building, forecasted weather data, or both; anddetermine a window setting adjustment for the building based on theset-point, the actual value, and the weather data.
 2. The HVAC system ofclaim 1, comprising an actuator configured to adjust a window setting ofa window of the building, wherein the controller is configured to sendinstructions to the actuator to adjust the window setting of the windowin accordance with the window setting adjustment.
 3. The HVAC system ofclaim 2, wherein the actuator is configured to adjust a position ofwindow coverings of the window, to open or close the window, or both, inaccordance with the window setting adjustment.
 4. The HVAC system ofclaim 1, wherein the environmental parameter comprises a temperaturewithin the space, a humidity level within the space, or both.
 5. TheHVAC system of claim 1, comprising a sensor communicatively coupled tothe controller and disposed within the building, wherein the sensor isconfigured to detect the actual value of the environmental parameter andprovide the feedback to the controller.
 6. The HVAC system of claim 5,comprising an additional sensor communicatively coupled to thecontroller and disposed external to the building, wherein the additionalsensor is configured to provide additional feedback indicative of thecurrent weather data to the controller.
 7. The HVAC system of claim 1,wherein the controller is configured to: receive the forecasted weatherdata from an online source; and determine the window setting adjustmentbased on the set-point, the actual value, and the forecasted weatherdata.
 8. The HVAC system of claim 7, wherein the controller isconfigured to: receive additional feedback indicative of the currentweather data from a sensor communicatively coupled to the controller;and in response to determining that the forecasted weather data and thecurrent weather data are disparate, determine the window settingadjustment based on the set-point, the actual value, and the currentweather data.
 9. The HVAC system of claim 1, comprising a mobile devicecommunicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the mobile devicecomprises a display and is configured to display instructions related tothe window setting adjustment via the display.
 10. The HVAC system ofclaim 9, wherein the mobile device is configured to display, via thedisplay, pictorial representations indicating a window of a plurality ofwindows of the building a user is to adjust in accordance with thewindow setting adjustment.
 11. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein theweather data comprises data correlating a position of the Sun relativeto the building with times of the day or times of the year.
 12. Aheating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising: athermal management system configured to establish a set-point for anenvironmental parameter of a building; and a controller configured to:receive weather data indicative of current weather data external to thebuilding, forecasted weather data, or both; and send instructions to anactuator to adjust a window setting of a window of the building based onthe set-point and the weather data.
 13. The HVAC system of claim 12,comprising the actuator, wherein the actuator is configured to adjustwindow coverings of the window, to open or close the window, or both.14. The HVAC system of claim 12, wherein the weather data is indicativeof cloud cover, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, temperature, humidity, windspeed, wind direction, and/or precipitation in an external environmentsurrounding the building.
 15. The HVAC system of claim 12, comprising asensor configured to provide feedback indicative of an actual value ofthe environmental parameter within the building to the controller,wherein the controller is configured to: compare the actual value to theset-point to determine a deviation between the actual value and theset-point; and send the instructions to the actuator to adjust thewindow setting based on the deviation and the weather data.
 16. The HVACsystem of claim 12, wherein the forecasted weather data comprisespredicted, future weather conditions of an external environmentsurrounding the building, wherein the controller is configured toinstruct the actuator to open or close the window based on thepredicted, future weather conditions.
 17. A heating, ventilation, andair conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising: a thermal management systemconfigured to establish a set-point for an environmental parameterwithin a space within a building; an actuator configured to adjust awindow setting of a window of the building; and a controller configuredto: receive feedback indicative of an actual value of the environmentalparameter within the space; receive weather data indicative of currentweather data external to the building, forecasted weather data, or both;and instruct the actuator to adjust the window setting of the buildingbased on comparison of the actual value to the set-point and based onthe weather data.
 18. The HVAC system of claim 17, comprising a mobiledevice communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the mobiledevice is configured to display instructions related to the windowsetting via a display of the mobile device.
 19. The HVAC system of claim17, wherein the environmental parameter comprises a temperature withinthe space, a humidity level within the space, or both.
 20. The HVACsystem of claim 17, wherein the weather data comprises a temperature ofan external environment surrounding the building, a humidity level ofthe external environment, or both.
 21. The HVAC system of claim 17,comprising an additional actuator configured to adjust an additionalwindow setting of an additional window of the building, wherein thecontroller is configured to instruct the additional actuator to adjustthe additional window setting based on a time-based schedule thatdefines the additional window setting for one or more time intervals.